Teen Vogue recently spoke with young authors, readers, teachers, and activists about the banned books that have made an impact on their lives and why it’s important to fight against censorship, especially now. Their testimonies and book choices are inspiring and personal.
Actor, activist, and 2023 Banned Books Week Honorary Chair LeVar Burton was a guest on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour on Monday to discuss the book bans and challenges that we’re currently facing in the United States. Burton said that the unprecedented increase in bans and challenges is “alarming,” but it has an upside: It’s forcing us to have a conversation about who we want to be as a nation.
It’s Banned Books Week, when libraries, schools, bookstores, and groups and individuals around the world—including Banned Books Week Honorary Chair LeVar Burton—call attention to censorship and ways to fight it.
The American Library Association (ALA) and Unite Against Book Bans will have a slate of programs, a call to action on Let Freedom Read Day, videos from the Banned Books From the Big Chair read out, and more throughout the week.
The New York Public Library is partnering with the American Library Association and Unite Against Book Bans to launch the “Books for All” campaign during Banned Books Week, held October 1–7, to underscore the importance of reading and access to knowledge for all and the vital role that public libraries play in our democracy. The partnership comes as the United States experiences an alarming rise in book bans and challenges throughout the country.
On September 20, the American Library Association (ALA) released new preliminary data that documents the continued rise in attempts to censor books and materials in public, school, and academic libraries during the first eight months in 2023. The data shows that, between January 1 and August 31, 2023, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom reported 695 attempts to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles. The number of unique titles challenged has increased by 20% from the same reporting period in 2022, the year in which the highest number of book challenges occurred since ALA began compiling this data more than 20 years ago.
Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb has been selected as the next selection in Chicago Today’s Banned Book Club. And Chicago Today hosts Cortney Hall and Matthew Rodrigues and American Library Association (ALA) Executive Director Tracie D. Hall—who selects the club’s featured books—invite everyone to read and discuss the book with them during a live Facebook chat.
Jason Reynolds is one of the most acclaimed writers of young adult literature in the world. The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is the bestselling author of Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Long Way Down, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi), Stuntboy, in the Meantime, Stuntboy, In-Between Time, and Ain’t Burned All the Bright, as well as books in the Mile Morales Spider-Man franchise for Marvel Entertainment. And he has great taste in music.
Reynolds spoke with I Love Libraries recently about writing for young readers, the fun and challenges of working in the superhero world, book bans, library memories, music, and more.
Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This report includes news from Georgia, North Carolina, New York, and Florida.
Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This report includes news from Iowa, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Vermont.
Neil Gaiman wears many hats: novelist, journalist, comic book writer, screenwriter, television producer, musician. And he’s a fierce supporter of libraries. The author of American Gods, Neverwhere, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, The Sandman, Coraline, and so many more has had a lifelong love affair with reading. (He’s even featured in a brand-new Celebrity READ poster from ALA Graphics!) And he credits librarians for fostering his curiosity about books and learning at a young age.
Gaiman spoke with I Love Libraries recently about libraries, his literary influences, book banning in the U.S., movies, and more.
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